Parents have it tough. Not only do we have to nourish and enrich our children’s lives with healthy food to help them grow strong, give them clothing to protect their bodies, and provide them with toys and books to enrich their minds, but we also have to protect them from harm, show them right from wrong, teach them to be brave, emotionally strong, self-sufficient and sure of themselves, and we have to educate them on the ways in which to interact with others – to show empathy and sympathy, mercy, grace, and respect – and to constantly be thinking how they can help the world to be a better place. Its a lot of responsibility, and its something that as I continue in my parenting journey I realize that its hard, and that its something that is always evolving and changing.

Chances are more and more likely that you, your children, or someone in your family will have food allergies. Its kind of worrisome that these allergies seem to be getting more and more prevalent. But even if you are lucky enough to never have to worry about life-threatening allergies, food elimination diets, or food intolerance, its just as important to know that even if you aren’t affected by someone with this, someone around you probably is.

One day this past summer, we went to the park for picnic with a friend and her kiddos. We set out our blankets, we corralled 5 small children in one area, we unpacked our food, and we started to have our lunch. Shortly after we got there, another family came to the park and sat a little ways away from us, also there to enjoy a family picnic before playing. We noticed that the young kids in this family were having a really hard time sitting down and eating – they were too interested in playing and climbing and running around, and it wasn’t long before these children talked their mom into letting them take their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the playground with them. This is where things got interesting – because my friend has super severe peanut allergies, and now instead of a fun and relaxing afternoon at the park, she was having to worry about where that peanut butter was being smeared and whether she or her kids would come into contact with it. Just by her children touching a swing with peanut butter on it, and then touching her, she could have died. Now this is absolutely not a critique on this mother at all – we are all doing our best, here, and we need to support each other in that endeavor. She just didn’t know.

With my oldest daughter starting kindergarten this fall and taking cold lunches with her, I am constantly thinking about the items that we pack into her lunchbox – not only do I want to make sure she has a healthy, tasty, and interesting lunch that she will enjoy, but I also want to make sure that it will be a healthy and safe experience for her classmates, as well.

I have an awesomely helpful and totally free printable for you – CLICK HERE to download it! Print it off, throw it in a page protector and then let your kids use it to help you pack lunches everyday! Getting your children involved in preparing their own lunches not only helps you out time-wise, but it also helps them to be more responsible, to understand healthy food choices, and be more likely to eat the food that is packed of them.

Whether or not you need allergen friendly lunch ideas, here are some awesome, tasty, healthy and safe options that everyone can enjoy!

Dairy:

Sweet:

We are a popcorn eating family and we try really hard to only buy “whole” foods – I make a lot of things from scratch, and we don’t buy a lot of things that are processed. But sometimes there are exceptions – especially when I can find products are made with the best ingredients possible – you can pronounce and identity everything, preservative and artificial ingredient free, and best of all – they taste amazing! And popcorn is one of these!

Jenni lives in Des Moines, Iowa with her amazing husband, two girls, two dogs who think they are children, and a feisty cat. She is the creator of The Gingered Whisk, a recipe blog dedicated to finding easy, healthy-ish, and tasty weeknight meals that kids and adults alike will love. She is super passionate about helping every member of a family learn to love great food. When not cooking, eating, or thinking about food, she is often hiking around area parks, creating intricate legos castles with her girls, watching nerdy tv with her husband, or curled up in a corner somewhere reading a good book.

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2 Comments

I love this post– I also just posted about childhood food allergies. I have life threatening allergies, and have been a teacher for many years, so see just how many children are affected. So far, I am super lucky that my son hasn't had any reactions.

About Me

Hey You! Welcome to The Gingered Whisk! My name is Jenni, and I'm an Iowa girl and a mom of two. I empower parents and kids alike to explore the world of food, to discover easy & healthy weeknight meals, & to become little foodies through creative culinary adventures!